Matlock (1986–1995): Season 4, Episode 18 - The Kidnapper - full transcript
♪ ♪
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Ben left a message
with my service
"Get over to my
house fast." Me too.
Why is the door open?
Ben?
Oh, my God.
Whoever did this
might still be here.
Where's Ben?
Oh, no!
Oh, Conrad!
Oh!
Oh, thank God.
Ben's been kidnapped.
I'm calling the
police. No, wait.
Maybe we shouldn't.
What does it say?
"I've kidnapped Ben Matlock.
"I'll exchange him for
the rare coins in his safe.
"Unless you want to see him
expunged, don't call the police,
"do exactly as I say.
"Failure to follow instructions
"will be the direct and
intervening cause of his death.
Go to the office
and wait for my call."
What kind of person
would do this?!
How many people
has he sent to jail?
Oh, we've gotta
find him. And fast.
Looks like we're
dealing with a lunatic.
The kidnapper must be a lawyer.
Listen to this, "If you
want to see him expunged,
"direct and intervening
cause of his death"
these are legal terms.
Who else but a lawyer
would know them?
Well, did Ben ever send
an attorney to prison?
No, I don't remember any lawyer.
Wait a minute.
Wait a minute, a
judge is a lawyer!
Ben's been kidnapped
by Judge Addison.
I don't remember the name.
Judge Carter Addison
was an old friend of Ben's.
Judge Addison was
respected, admired,
no one knew he
led a double life.
He had a mistress.
A lovely young woman
named Joanne Lee
of whom he was insanely jealous.
When Carter Addison discovered
she was seeing another man,
something inside of him snapped.
♪ ♪
His jealousy drove him
to do the unthinkable.
Addison murdered Joanne Lee
and framed her
boyfriend, Jim Meredith.
No!
This is the lobby,
Hobbs speaking.
Get up to 1102 right away!
There's a woman
screaming for help!
Something terrible has happened.
Hurry!
Superior Court 3
is now in session.
Honorable Judge
Carter Addison presiding.
All rise.
Of course, Ben
didn't know any of this.
He defended Jim Meredith
for the murder of Joanne Lee.
He had no reason to be
displeased that his old friend,
Carter Addison, was
the presiding judge.
We'll, uh, start with the
private counsel cases.
The State v. Meredith.
Benjamin Matlock for
the defense, Your Honor.
Defendant has been
advised of his rights,
pleads not guilty,
requests a jury trial.
Time is waived.
How would September
28th, 9:00 a.m. be, Counselor?
Fine with me, Your Honor.
You know, I can't get
over Carter Addison
asking me to step aside on this.
I mean,
I can understand a lawyer
asking a judge to step aside
because of prejudice.
But a judge asking a lawyer,
don't you think that's odd?
Yeah, it is.
Ben, I didn't find
any fingerprints
on that Cognac bottle.
I did find this.
A pipe cleaner and some tobacco.
Ben wasn't suspicious
of Judge Addison
until he asked Ben to
step aside on the case.
Evening, Carter.
Well, hello, Ben. What
are you doing here?
Oh, sometimes I
get the wanderlust.
Buy you a drink.
Uh, well, it's a little late.
Oh, just one.
They got something
here very special.
Two Langlois Napoleon cognacs.
Well, uh, let me say
good night. Okay.
Well, here's to dandelion season
or whatever season it is.
Yeah, interestingly enough,
I found a bottle of this
in Joanne Lee's pocket.
Uh, who?
Joanne Lee, that murdered girl.
Oh, yes, yes.
I really am glad I didn't
step aside on this case.
It's fascinating.
It really is.
I think, I think she was
being kept by an older man.
I think he smoked a pipe
and drank this same cognac.
I don't know that he killed her,
but he could have.
Well, I better get home.
My wife's by herself.
Big day tomorrow.
Oh, for me too, Carter.
For me too. Thanks, Ben.
Yeah. Good night.
We haven't met.
I'm Joanne Lee's mother.
They're waiting for
you in court, Mrs. Lee.
Well, I thought
we should talk first.
Hmm, why is that?
Joanne told me all about you.
What is it, Mr. Matlock?
I'll get right to
it, Your Honor.
Defense intends to call His
Honor as its next witness.
I have no information
relevant to this case.
I have a sincere belief
that Your Honor may
have knowledge of facts
that may shed some
light on this case.
All rise!
You know how Ben is
when he gets suspicious.
He gets tricky.
One of his tricks was
Joanne's mother, Claire Lee.
Your Honor, defense has just
been presented with new evidence
that's important to our case.
May we take a brief recess to
prepare for our next witness?
All right, this
court will recess
until 2:30 this afternoon.
Ben's plan worked.
♪ ♪
The truth, the whole truth
and nothing but the truth
so help me God.
And Ben had another
trick up his sleeve.
Mr. Addison,
do you know Mrs. Claire Lee?
I don't know her personally, no.
You are aware that
she is the mother
of the deceased, Joanne Lee?
I believe that
was the testimony.
Have you had any occasion to
discuss this case with Mrs. Lee?
Absolutely not.
Isn't it true
that you met with
her this morning
after she testified
in your court?
No, I did not.
And at that time,
didn't you give her
an envelope containing $15,000?
Objection!
The witness already testified
he never met with the woman.
Sustained.
Did you know Joanne Lee?
No. Never met her?
Uh-uh, no.
Are you familiar with a
condominium building
at 437 Highview Street?
No, I am not.
Let me refresh Your
Honor's memory.
From this condominium
building, with a pair of binoculars,
a person can look right
into Joanne Lee's apartment,
which is what the killer did.
While he watched and
waited for his chance
to murder her.
Matlock, I warn you, making
these unsubstantiated charges
is contemptible.
Mr. Addison, I don't make
unsubstantiated charges.
You see,
this morning...
when you went back
to that condominium,
when Mr. Bryant saw you,
to remove your clothes
that you had left there
till this whole thing was over,
you didn't remove your clothes.
They were replacements
that were placed there
by my associate,
Mr. Tyler Hudson.
These are your clothes.
This is your raincoat.
See Joanne Lee's blood?
These are your gloves.
Your hat.
Your shoes.
Which I place into evidence now.
Carter,
you were one of the best
and one of the brightest.
I'm truly sorry
it's come to this.
You're right.
Sounds like the kidnapper
could be Judge Addison.
Let's see when
he got out of jail.
Yo, Charlie. Conrad.
Got a name for your computer.
Judge Carter Addison.
Two "D's."
Yeah.
Really.
I owe you one, Charlie, thanks.
When did he get out?
He didn't.
Judge Addison is still
serving his sentence.
According to his prison
file which Charlie accessed,
don't ask me how.
That leads us right
back where we started.
This is wrong to
go at alone, Conrad.
We've got to call the police.
Ben Matlock's office.
You know who this is.
You deliver the coins,
I'll deliver Matlock.
We're in business. Yeah.
Where and when?
You'll find out.
When it's time.
I'll be calling back with
instructions, wait there.
I want to talk to Ben.
Forget it.
How do we know you have him?
We have him.
How do we know he's alive?
Well, you'll just have
to take my word for it.
Because if you don't...
I'll just have to kill him.
♪ ♪
Good thing we put all Ben's
case files on the computer.
Conrad, we have to do something!
We are. This'll work.
This is a hacker's program.
See, you know
all this stuff. A little.
But how's this gonna
help us find Ben?
What I'm doing here is
I'm asking the computer
to search the case files,
come up with the
answers to two questions.
First one is, "Which of the
people Ben sent to prison
is out?"
That is straight data.
Then there's Charlie's
psychological profile
program, and that'll give me the
answer to the second question,
which is, "Which of those would
commit a crime of revenge?"
Should work.
Michelle...
Hey!
Okay. Okay, what do we got here?
Five names. No, actually four.
Ben told me that
this third name,
Michael Turner, died in
prison. All right, four names.
What do you think?
What do I think?
What do I think?
What do I think?
Okay, okay, we know that, uh,
more than one person is
involved in this kidnapping.
How do we know that?
Well, you heard
him on the phone.
He said, "We have Ben."
Right.
And the motive is
definitely revenge.
I think our best
bet is Cathy Baron.
Cathy Baron. Yeah.
She hated Ben.
And not just because
he sent her to prison,
I think she always looked to
Ben and saw all the men in her life
who'd hurt her. What, they
all loved her and left her?
Not quite.
Cathy Baron was the
daughter of a Mafia Don.
And the men around her
seemed to die violent deaths.
The Don, Nicholas Baron,
was charged with the
murder of both Donald Kovak
and Eddie Alonzo.
Ben, as usual, had a
few questions to ask.
Well, hello.
I could've told you you'd
wind up taking the case.
I'm Cathy Baron. Turn around
and place your hands on the wall...
Hey, leave it, Marty.
This is Benjamin
Matlock, father's attorney.
There's one thing
about this case
that bothers me.
The man who killed Kovak
and then was himself
killed, Eddie Alonzo,
was someone
whom all of you knew.
Are you saying that
one of us hired him
and then had him killed?
He was like a brother to me.
Like a second
father to the children.
Besides, he was retired.
I know.
But who could best talk
him out of retirement?
I don't think a stranger.
I think someone
he knew and trusted.
Well, if you'll excuse
us, we'll go to work.
Cathy Baron proved to
be a fascinating puzzle
for Ben's daughter, Charlene.
God, it feels good to
get out of that house.
You still live at home?
Well, when Nicholas
Baron is your father
you don't exactly have a
whole lot of options in life.
That's tough.
So, how's the case going?
Whoever killed Eddie Alonzo
had to have access
to your father's house.
You mean like one of us.
We can't rule that out.
You better learn one thing fast,
and that's no matter
what, we are a family here
and no outsider dare questions
our loyalty to each other ever!
Not everyone was happy Ben
was defending Nicholas Baron.
Charlene? Dad?
Good Lord!
Are you all right?
I'm all right,
are you all right?
Well, I got this phone call,
I didn't...
Hello?
This was just a game.
Walk off this case
while you still can walk.
Somebody's trying to
scare us off this case.
Let me tell you something.
Now, I don't care who it is.
Anything, I mean, anything
happens to my daughter,
there's gonna be hell to pay.
My man'll find out who
did it. Oh, Paul, please.
He's here because
he thinks it's one of us.
That's impossible!
Let me tell you something.
Whenever I find
who's responsible
for endangering my daughter,
I'm gonna feed him
to the district attorney
piece by piece.
You know...
I lost my mother
when I was young.
Was it difficult for you?
My father divorced my
mother over 20 years ago.
I barely remember her.
Where is she now?
When she walked out,
my father forbade any
of us to have any contact
with her.
He'd punish us
if we so much as
mentioned her name.
He even had all the
photographs of her destroyed...
Every single one of them.
Well, why did she walk out?
My mother loved my
father but hated what he did.
I guess she thought by marrying
him she could change him,
but she couldn't.
So she finally left.
With another man.
Finally the secrets
the Baron family
so carefully hid were revealed.
I know how difficult
this is gonna be for you.
But, remember, no
matter how it turns out...
Now, it might turn out to be
what neither of us wanted...
But that was our
deal, and, like it or not,
I'm gonna have
to hold you to it.
I'm gonna go ahead with it.
Miss Baron,
you were having an
affair with Donald Kovak.
Yes.
Was that affair going on
at the time of his death?
Yes.
Donald Kovak was a
married man, wasn't he?
He was going to leave his wife.
When?
Eventually.
I understand...
Eddie Alonzo's an
old friend of the family.
Did you keep track of him?
I haven't seen him in years.
Are you sure?
Yes.
You took $25,000
out of your trust
fund the same week
that Eddie Alonzo
put $25,000 down
on a house.
You think that's
just a coincidence.
I suppose so.
You know...
I've been meaning to tell you
that locket you always wear
is beautiful.
Thank you.
My mother had
one something like it.
You open it up
and there's pictures inside.
Does yours open up?
Yes.
Would you open it, please.
Stop! I confess!
I did it! I killed them both!
Please, stop! Stop!
Please! Please!
It's too late.
Would you like some time
with you client, Mr. Matlock?
No, Your Honor.
We apologize for the outburst.
You may proceed.
Your father just confessed
to murders he didn't commit.
Would you open
the locket, please?
Very pretty.
Your mother?
I didn't know any
pictures of her existed.
Where did you get it?
I... I can't remember.
That picture came...
from this photo album.
From that picture.
This photo album
belonged to Eddie Alonzo.
It came from his apartment.
Isn't it true that Eddie
Alonzo cut that picture out
and gave it to you
when you came to him
with the $25,000?
Isn't it true you told him
you wanted to avenge your
father's wrongful imprisonment?
When in fact you
wanted to avenge
yourself on a man who
wouldn't leave his wife for you.
Isn't it true that you gave
Eddie Alonzo $25,000
to kill Donald Kovak?
And isn't it true that
you took your father's car
and gun and went to the field
where you knew Eddie would be
and shot him?
Isn't all of that true?
Yes. Yes.
Yes.
That's a woman I'd think
twice about double-crossing.
Mm-hmm.
Bet you Charlie has her address.
Excuse me?
Hi. Are you the
manager? Oh, yeah.
Uh, ground floor, two bedrooms,
lovely view of the
park. Uh, no, no.
We'd like to ask you a few
questions about Cathy Baron.
Ooh.
I'll bet you guys are
from the National Informer.
You got us.
Go on.
Well...
Cathy seemed
like a very nice girl,
so I decided to rent her a
place after she got out of prison.
Well, next thing you know,
she takes up with
one man after another.
And they all give
her a very bad time.
Then, this incredibly
wealthy Turk shows up,
and takes her to Cairo.
We all know
why.
Where she visits
the ruins of these
ancient tombs,
and has an amazing
spiritual experience.
Which is how she ended up
doing what it is that she does.
Which is what?
Oh, you're a kidder.
Very cute.
Oh, come on. I mean,
who would have thought
that a killer like Cathy
Baron would end up in L.A.
channeling the spirit
of a 2,000-year-old
Egyptian priest?
Lady flipped out, Michelle.
Flipped out? Hell, no.
She calls herself Rama Da.
Celebrities flock to her.
She's pulling down
20 grand a month.
Thanks for the information.
Um, Dorothy Smith... S-M-I-T-H.
Thank you.
I'm 28 years old.
I'm telling you, we've
got to call the police.
No, you heard
him. They'll kill Ben.
What makes you think
they won't kill him anyway?
Or that he's even
alive? I'm calling
Bob Brooks. Wait!
I know how worried you are.
I am, too, all right?
Just let me give the
computer one more shot.
If it doesn't work,
we'll try it your way.
Deal?
All right.
All right, let me just ask this
sucker one more question.
Who of this bunch is a lunatic?
Certified.
Ben Matlock's office.
Okay, McMasters.
Here's what you do.
Take the coins...
Forget it!
I've lost interest.
Hey, do you know who this is?
- Yeah.
I know who it is, and I only
have one thing to say to you.
Either I talk to Ben, or
nothing else happens.
Oh, a lot could happen.
I could kill him.
Then do it.
What are you...?
Listen.
I've worked for Ben
Matlock for less than a year.
We're not exactly buddies.
Fact is, I don't even like
the guy, and the worst
thing that could happen to me
if you kill him is
I'll find another job.
So, cut the crap!
Now, put the silver
fox on, or forget it.
Ow!
Talk fast, and
careful what you say.
Hello?
Ben!
Ben, you all right?
I'm fine.
We're working on it, Ben.
I know.
Feed my cats, Sarah and Esther.
Ben?!
Okay, no more games.
Michelle Thomas will
be at the pay phone
in Butler Park at
Laurel and Newcastle.
She'll have the coins with her,
or Matlock's a dead man.
Wait...
Oh, God.
What was Ben trying to tell us?
Okay, he doesn't
have cats, so...
Sarah and Esther.
Sarah... and Esther...
Morgan.
Morgan.
The Morgan twins.
They kidnapped him.
I don't think so.
They're Ben's neighbors.
They're over 80, and
God-fearing women.
They give Ben hand-knitted
mufflers every Christmas.
Well, maybe they suddenly
went wacko or something.
No. No. No. No?
Okay, Sarah and Esther.
Morgan.
Morgan. Morgan.
Morgan, what?! Morgan.
It's a street name.
Morgan.
Morgan.
Morgan.
It's not a street.
It's not a boulevard,
it's not an avenue.
It's not even an alley.
What was he trying to tell us?!
Do you remember my sister Emily?
Huh?
'Course you do.
Do you remember
how sweet she was?
How pretty?
Know where she is?
She's dead.
All gone.
You see, you made
Emily so very unhappy
that she killed herself.
Shoot him.
Come on, Julia, take
a pill or something.
You're not thinking straight.
Don't say that.
Julia, listen, we need him
until we get what we want.
You want those
coins, don't you, Jack?
Well, they're worth
half a million, Julia,
and I know just
where to sell them.
And you deserve them
for helping me
escape from prison,
for helping me get him,
and for helping me
kill Michelle Thomas.
Isn't this a great plan?
My uncle's in Florida, so
we broke into his house,
kidnapped you, so
Jack'll get the coins,
and all that money.
And I get to kill your
dear friend Michelle.
I...
I-I knew you'd like this plan.
You see, Mr. Matlock,
I know you're close to Michelle,
and I want you to know exactly
what it feels like when
someone you love dies.
And you will.
I promise.
Sarah and Esther,
Sarah and Esther.
Sarah and Esther.
That's it.
What?
It's not the name.
It's the
relationship... sisters.
Ben's been kidnapped by sisters.
All right, I'll plug it in.
No. I know who it is.
Julia and Emily McCullough.
Sisters. Strange sisters.
Julia and Emily McCullough
shared everything,
including the plan to
commit the perfect murder
just to prove they could do it.
Am I you, or are you me?
Hurry up. Okay, okay.
Do you have my, uh, notebook?
Emily, let's go.
You don't need it.
Okay. Julia, can't we
do this another night?
Emily, we should have been
at the library ten minutes ago.
Let's go.
Julia!
Come on.
You like playing with fire.
Good night, Uncle Harold.
Dribbles around,
passes to Turner.
Turner to Pierson,
Pierson to Pryor...
He's open. Shoots and scores!
Good evening, Miss Reese.
Look, D.B., I'm supposed
to know my way around.
This John Doe moke
must've cost you a fortune.
Harold, is that you?
Harold?
Harold?
Julia.
Shh, shh.
Uncle Harold?
What happened?
Esther... is dead.
She's been murdered.
But Ben, who defended their
Uncle Howard for the murder of
their Aunt Esther, was
suspicious of Julia and Emily,
and he investigated
as only Ben can.
What do you want?
Oh! Oh!
I'm so sorry. Would you...
Oh, would you look
at... at that? I'm sorry. I...
thought I was by myself.
Who are you?
Oh, I'm Ben Matlock,
Harold's lawyer.
You must be his nieces.
Yes, we are.
What gives you the
right to come in here?
Julia?
Harold said you were the one
that did the talking,
that Emily was real shy.
Don't burn yourself
with that.
Oh, I'm not gonna burn anything.
Or anyone.
What are you looking for?
Silver polish.
Why?
Whoever killed your Aunt Esther
tried to clean that candlestick
before the police found it.
I can't find the silver polish.
If Harold tried to clean it,
where did he put the polish?
Look.
Silver polish.
Isn't that interesting?
I just found this one.
I guess you can't have
too much silver polish.
Well, I'll be on my way, and
again, I'm...
Good night.
Where's Julia?
I'd like to have
a word with her.
Um... She's here somewhere.
Let's go ask Miss Reese.
Mrs. Reese, have you seen Julia?
Yes, of course.
She's in the upper stacks.
There.
There she is.
Julia?
Where is Julia?
Right over here.
I could have sworn that...
Amazing how our eyes
can fool us sometimes.
Mr. Hudson was
interviewing your sister.
He tricked me.
I thought it was you.
So did Mrs. Reese.
I don't think she's
so certain now
it was you she saw in the stacks
the night of the murder.
We have to study.
Uh, one other thing.
Subpoenas for both of you.
You can come to court together.
It'll be like always.
Emily,
when you were very young,
your parents died
in a fire, didn't they?
Yes.
And you always felt bad
about that, didn't you?
Even guilty.
Yes.
Did you know that
fire was caused
by a broken gas main?
No.
I have the fire department
report right here.
Julia didn't tell
you that, didn't she?
She needed for you
to feel responsible for the fire
and the death of your parents,
because you used to
like to play with matches.
Leave my sister alone!
He's a liar! Liar!
Order. Order in the court.
One more word out
of you, young lady,
and I'll have you in contempt.
Ben found the psychological
key to Julia's domination
of Emily... and the key
to proving them guilty.
No further questions.
You may step down.
Julia.
The court isn't
finished with you.
Your Honor, I call Julia
McCullough to the stand.
Now, Julia,
you stole Mr. Henderson's keys
the night you drove
him into town, didn't you?
No.
Then, made your
sister impersonate you
in the library. JULIA: No.
Then, you killed your
Aunt Esther to prove
you could commit
the perfect crime
and were therefore
better than everyone else.
No. Then, you and your sister
hid this candlestick
in the basement
for the police to find.
Of course not.
Who did?
Uncle Harold.
I don't think so.
I just noticed something
that somehow evaded
me until a moment ago.
If it had been a snake,
it would have bitten me.
When does the paper
arrive at the house?
In the morning.
What time?
About 6:00.
Well, Harold couldn't
have used this newspaper
to wrap the candlestick.
Why not?
Read the day of the week.
Read it.
It's Thursday's paper.
I didn't hear you.
It's Thursday's paper!
And Uncle Harold
was taken into custody
by the police Wednesday night,
wasn't he?
Yes.
So, what does that mean?
It means this candlestick
was placed in the basement
after Harold was taken
to police headquarters.
Who was at the house
Thursday morning, Julia?
The police were with you.
They know that you
and Emily were alone.
Only you and your sister
could have placed this
candlestick in the basement.
Okay, Julia went to
the Taylor State Prison
for the Criminally Insane.
I don't know about Emily.
How can they be out?
Yo, Charlie?
Okay, time to go.
You okay?
I'm always okay.
Mr. Matlock and I
are going to talk over
old times.
Aren't we, honey?
Then, you'll bring
back Miss Thomas.
And we'll have a party.
You can count on it.
Okay, this is it.
I'm taking the coins to
Laurel and Newcastle.
All right, it's a public place.
It should be safe.
I'll go to the McCullough house.
Whoever the guy
is that's working
with the sisters will
be guarding Ben.
Listen, be careful.
That house is full
of secret passages.
Hey, I was born careful.
You be careful. Yeah.
Good luck, huh? All right.
Ben and I will meet you
back here in a couple hours.
I like that.
Hello, Miss Thomas.
You should always wear red.
Where are you?
Close.
Now, listen.
Leave the park.
Drive ten miles west on Route 42
to the bus stop between
South and Grand.
Get out of the car,
and wait on the bench.
I have the coins.
Is Ben with you?
No questions.
Just do as you're told.
Damn.
♪ ♪
Hello.
Waiting for the bus?
No, for a friend.
Surprise.
I have something you want.
Save it.
You'll be delivering
it in person
to an old friend of yours
who wants to say
hello and good-bye.
Emily was beautiful.
Just like your Michelle.
You killed Emily,
so I'm going to kill Michelle.
And-and then, I'm
going to kill you.
Let go of me!
Come on. All right, all right.
Let go of me!
There you go.
Let me out of here!
Thank God it's over.
No, it's not. He'll
be back in a minute
with Michelle, and
he's going to kill her.
All right.
I'll call the police.
All right. All right.
You okay?
Okay.
Hey, Julia, I brought
you a present.
Nothing to it.
Ben, are you all right?
Yeah. You?
I'm fine now. Oh, good.
Oh, good, the cops.
I'll let them in.
He's out. I'll get Julia.
She's gone!
Gone?! Yeah.
Michelle!
Michelle, look out!
Bob?
Always good to see you.
♪ ♪
♪ ♪
Ben left a message
with my service
"Get over to my
house fast." Me too.
Why is the door open?
Ben?
Oh, my God.
Whoever did this
might still be here.
Where's Ben?
Oh, no!
Oh, Conrad!
Oh!
Oh, thank God.
Ben's been kidnapped.
I'm calling the
police. No, wait.
Maybe we shouldn't.
What does it say?
"I've kidnapped Ben Matlock.
"I'll exchange him for
the rare coins in his safe.
"Unless you want to see him
expunged, don't call the police,
"do exactly as I say.
"Failure to follow instructions
"will be the direct and
intervening cause of his death.
Go to the office
and wait for my call."
What kind of person
would do this?!
How many people
has he sent to jail?
Oh, we've gotta
find him. And fast.
Looks like we're
dealing with a lunatic.
The kidnapper must be a lawyer.
Listen to this, "If you
want to see him expunged,
"direct and intervening
cause of his death"
these are legal terms.
Who else but a lawyer
would know them?
Well, did Ben ever send
an attorney to prison?
No, I don't remember any lawyer.
Wait a minute.
Wait a minute, a
judge is a lawyer!
Ben's been kidnapped
by Judge Addison.
I don't remember the name.
Judge Carter Addison
was an old friend of Ben's.
Judge Addison was
respected, admired,
no one knew he
led a double life.
He had a mistress.
A lovely young woman
named Joanne Lee
of whom he was insanely jealous.
When Carter Addison discovered
she was seeing another man,
something inside of him snapped.
♪ ♪
His jealousy drove him
to do the unthinkable.
Addison murdered Joanne Lee
and framed her
boyfriend, Jim Meredith.
No!
This is the lobby,
Hobbs speaking.
Get up to 1102 right away!
There's a woman
screaming for help!
Something terrible has happened.
Hurry!
Superior Court 3
is now in session.
Honorable Judge
Carter Addison presiding.
All rise.
Of course, Ben
didn't know any of this.
He defended Jim Meredith
for the murder of Joanne Lee.
He had no reason to be
displeased that his old friend,
Carter Addison, was
the presiding judge.
We'll, uh, start with the
private counsel cases.
The State v. Meredith.
Benjamin Matlock for
the defense, Your Honor.
Defendant has been
advised of his rights,
pleads not guilty,
requests a jury trial.
Time is waived.
How would September
28th, 9:00 a.m. be, Counselor?
Fine with me, Your Honor.
You know, I can't get
over Carter Addison
asking me to step aside on this.
I mean,
I can understand a lawyer
asking a judge to step aside
because of prejudice.
But a judge asking a lawyer,
don't you think that's odd?
Yeah, it is.
Ben, I didn't find
any fingerprints
on that Cognac bottle.
I did find this.
A pipe cleaner and some tobacco.
Ben wasn't suspicious
of Judge Addison
until he asked Ben to
step aside on the case.
Evening, Carter.
Well, hello, Ben. What
are you doing here?
Oh, sometimes I
get the wanderlust.
Buy you a drink.
Uh, well, it's a little late.
Oh, just one.
They got something
here very special.
Two Langlois Napoleon cognacs.
Well, uh, let me say
good night. Okay.
Well, here's to dandelion season
or whatever season it is.
Yeah, interestingly enough,
I found a bottle of this
in Joanne Lee's pocket.
Uh, who?
Joanne Lee, that murdered girl.
Oh, yes, yes.
I really am glad I didn't
step aside on this case.
It's fascinating.
It really is.
I think, I think she was
being kept by an older man.
I think he smoked a pipe
and drank this same cognac.
I don't know that he killed her,
but he could have.
Well, I better get home.
My wife's by herself.
Big day tomorrow.
Oh, for me too, Carter.
For me too. Thanks, Ben.
Yeah. Good night.
We haven't met.
I'm Joanne Lee's mother.
They're waiting for
you in court, Mrs. Lee.
Well, I thought
we should talk first.
Hmm, why is that?
Joanne told me all about you.
What is it, Mr. Matlock?
I'll get right to
it, Your Honor.
Defense intends to call His
Honor as its next witness.
I have no information
relevant to this case.
I have a sincere belief
that Your Honor may
have knowledge of facts
that may shed some
light on this case.
All rise!
You know how Ben is
when he gets suspicious.
He gets tricky.
One of his tricks was
Joanne's mother, Claire Lee.
Your Honor, defense has just
been presented with new evidence
that's important to our case.
May we take a brief recess to
prepare for our next witness?
All right, this
court will recess
until 2:30 this afternoon.
Ben's plan worked.
♪ ♪
The truth, the whole truth
and nothing but the truth
so help me God.
And Ben had another
trick up his sleeve.
Mr. Addison,
do you know Mrs. Claire Lee?
I don't know her personally, no.
You are aware that
she is the mother
of the deceased, Joanne Lee?
I believe that
was the testimony.
Have you had any occasion to
discuss this case with Mrs. Lee?
Absolutely not.
Isn't it true
that you met with
her this morning
after she testified
in your court?
No, I did not.
And at that time,
didn't you give her
an envelope containing $15,000?
Objection!
The witness already testified
he never met with the woman.
Sustained.
Did you know Joanne Lee?
No. Never met her?
Uh-uh, no.
Are you familiar with a
condominium building
at 437 Highview Street?
No, I am not.
Let me refresh Your
Honor's memory.
From this condominium
building, with a pair of binoculars,
a person can look right
into Joanne Lee's apartment,
which is what the killer did.
While he watched and
waited for his chance
to murder her.
Matlock, I warn you, making
these unsubstantiated charges
is contemptible.
Mr. Addison, I don't make
unsubstantiated charges.
You see,
this morning...
when you went back
to that condominium,
when Mr. Bryant saw you,
to remove your clothes
that you had left there
till this whole thing was over,
you didn't remove your clothes.
They were replacements
that were placed there
by my associate,
Mr. Tyler Hudson.
These are your clothes.
This is your raincoat.
See Joanne Lee's blood?
These are your gloves.
Your hat.
Your shoes.
Which I place into evidence now.
Carter,
you were one of the best
and one of the brightest.
I'm truly sorry
it's come to this.
You're right.
Sounds like the kidnapper
could be Judge Addison.
Let's see when
he got out of jail.
Yo, Charlie. Conrad.
Got a name for your computer.
Judge Carter Addison.
Two "D's."
Yeah.
Really.
I owe you one, Charlie, thanks.
When did he get out?
He didn't.
Judge Addison is still
serving his sentence.
According to his prison
file which Charlie accessed,
don't ask me how.
That leads us right
back where we started.
This is wrong to
go at alone, Conrad.
We've got to call the police.
Ben Matlock's office.
You know who this is.
You deliver the coins,
I'll deliver Matlock.
We're in business. Yeah.
Where and when?
You'll find out.
When it's time.
I'll be calling back with
instructions, wait there.
I want to talk to Ben.
Forget it.
How do we know you have him?
We have him.
How do we know he's alive?
Well, you'll just have
to take my word for it.
Because if you don't...
I'll just have to kill him.
♪ ♪
Good thing we put all Ben's
case files on the computer.
Conrad, we have to do something!
We are. This'll work.
This is a hacker's program.
See, you know
all this stuff. A little.
But how's this gonna
help us find Ben?
What I'm doing here is
I'm asking the computer
to search the case files,
come up with the
answers to two questions.
First one is, "Which of the
people Ben sent to prison
is out?"
That is straight data.
Then there's Charlie's
psychological profile
program, and that'll give me the
answer to the second question,
which is, "Which of those would
commit a crime of revenge?"
Should work.
Michelle...
Hey!
Okay. Okay, what do we got here?
Five names. No, actually four.
Ben told me that
this third name,
Michael Turner, died in
prison. All right, four names.
What do you think?
What do I think?
What do I think?
What do I think?
Okay, okay, we know that, uh,
more than one person is
involved in this kidnapping.
How do we know that?
Well, you heard
him on the phone.
He said, "We have Ben."
Right.
And the motive is
definitely revenge.
I think our best
bet is Cathy Baron.
Cathy Baron. Yeah.
She hated Ben.
And not just because
he sent her to prison,
I think she always looked to
Ben and saw all the men in her life
who'd hurt her. What, they
all loved her and left her?
Not quite.
Cathy Baron was the
daughter of a Mafia Don.
And the men around her
seemed to die violent deaths.
The Don, Nicholas Baron,
was charged with the
murder of both Donald Kovak
and Eddie Alonzo.
Ben, as usual, had a
few questions to ask.
Well, hello.
I could've told you you'd
wind up taking the case.
I'm Cathy Baron. Turn around
and place your hands on the wall...
Hey, leave it, Marty.
This is Benjamin
Matlock, father's attorney.
There's one thing
about this case
that bothers me.
The man who killed Kovak
and then was himself
killed, Eddie Alonzo,
was someone
whom all of you knew.
Are you saying that
one of us hired him
and then had him killed?
He was like a brother to me.
Like a second
father to the children.
Besides, he was retired.
I know.
But who could best talk
him out of retirement?
I don't think a stranger.
I think someone
he knew and trusted.
Well, if you'll excuse
us, we'll go to work.
Cathy Baron proved to
be a fascinating puzzle
for Ben's daughter, Charlene.
God, it feels good to
get out of that house.
You still live at home?
Well, when Nicholas
Baron is your father
you don't exactly have a
whole lot of options in life.
That's tough.
So, how's the case going?
Whoever killed Eddie Alonzo
had to have access
to your father's house.
You mean like one of us.
We can't rule that out.
You better learn one thing fast,
and that's no matter
what, we are a family here
and no outsider dare questions
our loyalty to each other ever!
Not everyone was happy Ben
was defending Nicholas Baron.
Charlene? Dad?
Good Lord!
Are you all right?
I'm all right,
are you all right?
Well, I got this phone call,
I didn't...
Hello?
This was just a game.
Walk off this case
while you still can walk.
Somebody's trying to
scare us off this case.
Let me tell you something.
Now, I don't care who it is.
Anything, I mean, anything
happens to my daughter,
there's gonna be hell to pay.
My man'll find out who
did it. Oh, Paul, please.
He's here because
he thinks it's one of us.
That's impossible!
Let me tell you something.
Whenever I find
who's responsible
for endangering my daughter,
I'm gonna feed him
to the district attorney
piece by piece.
You know...
I lost my mother
when I was young.
Was it difficult for you?
My father divorced my
mother over 20 years ago.
I barely remember her.
Where is she now?
When she walked out,
my father forbade any
of us to have any contact
with her.
He'd punish us
if we so much as
mentioned her name.
He even had all the
photographs of her destroyed...
Every single one of them.
Well, why did she walk out?
My mother loved my
father but hated what he did.
I guess she thought by marrying
him she could change him,
but she couldn't.
So she finally left.
With another man.
Finally the secrets
the Baron family
so carefully hid were revealed.
I know how difficult
this is gonna be for you.
But, remember, no
matter how it turns out...
Now, it might turn out to be
what neither of us wanted...
But that was our
deal, and, like it or not,
I'm gonna have
to hold you to it.
I'm gonna go ahead with it.
Miss Baron,
you were having an
affair with Donald Kovak.
Yes.
Was that affair going on
at the time of his death?
Yes.
Donald Kovak was a
married man, wasn't he?
He was going to leave his wife.
When?
Eventually.
I understand...
Eddie Alonzo's an
old friend of the family.
Did you keep track of him?
I haven't seen him in years.
Are you sure?
Yes.
You took $25,000
out of your trust
fund the same week
that Eddie Alonzo
put $25,000 down
on a house.
You think that's
just a coincidence.
I suppose so.
You know...
I've been meaning to tell you
that locket you always wear
is beautiful.
Thank you.
My mother had
one something like it.
You open it up
and there's pictures inside.
Does yours open up?
Yes.
Would you open it, please.
Stop! I confess!
I did it! I killed them both!
Please, stop! Stop!
Please! Please!
It's too late.
Would you like some time
with you client, Mr. Matlock?
No, Your Honor.
We apologize for the outburst.
You may proceed.
Your father just confessed
to murders he didn't commit.
Would you open
the locket, please?
Very pretty.
Your mother?
I didn't know any
pictures of her existed.
Where did you get it?
I... I can't remember.
That picture came...
from this photo album.
From that picture.
This photo album
belonged to Eddie Alonzo.
It came from his apartment.
Isn't it true that Eddie
Alonzo cut that picture out
and gave it to you
when you came to him
with the $25,000?
Isn't it true you told him
you wanted to avenge your
father's wrongful imprisonment?
When in fact you
wanted to avenge
yourself on a man who
wouldn't leave his wife for you.
Isn't it true that you gave
Eddie Alonzo $25,000
to kill Donald Kovak?
And isn't it true that
you took your father's car
and gun and went to the field
where you knew Eddie would be
and shot him?
Isn't all of that true?
Yes. Yes.
Yes.
That's a woman I'd think
twice about double-crossing.
Mm-hmm.
Bet you Charlie has her address.
Excuse me?
Hi. Are you the
manager? Oh, yeah.
Uh, ground floor, two bedrooms,
lovely view of the
park. Uh, no, no.
We'd like to ask you a few
questions about Cathy Baron.
Ooh.
I'll bet you guys are
from the National Informer.
You got us.
Go on.
Well...
Cathy seemed
like a very nice girl,
so I decided to rent her a
place after she got out of prison.
Well, next thing you know,
she takes up with
one man after another.
And they all give
her a very bad time.
Then, this incredibly
wealthy Turk shows up,
and takes her to Cairo.
We all know
why.
Where she visits
the ruins of these
ancient tombs,
and has an amazing
spiritual experience.
Which is how she ended up
doing what it is that she does.
Which is what?
Oh, you're a kidder.
Very cute.
Oh, come on. I mean,
who would have thought
that a killer like Cathy
Baron would end up in L.A.
channeling the spirit
of a 2,000-year-old
Egyptian priest?
Lady flipped out, Michelle.
Flipped out? Hell, no.
She calls herself Rama Da.
Celebrities flock to her.
She's pulling down
20 grand a month.
Thanks for the information.
Um, Dorothy Smith... S-M-I-T-H.
Thank you.
I'm 28 years old.
I'm telling you, we've
got to call the police.
No, you heard
him. They'll kill Ben.
What makes you think
they won't kill him anyway?
Or that he's even
alive? I'm calling
Bob Brooks. Wait!
I know how worried you are.
I am, too, all right?
Just let me give the
computer one more shot.
If it doesn't work,
we'll try it your way.
Deal?
All right.
All right, let me just ask this
sucker one more question.
Who of this bunch is a lunatic?
Certified.
Ben Matlock's office.
Okay, McMasters.
Here's what you do.
Take the coins...
Forget it!
I've lost interest.
Hey, do you know who this is?
- Yeah.
I know who it is, and I only
have one thing to say to you.
Either I talk to Ben, or
nothing else happens.
Oh, a lot could happen.
I could kill him.
Then do it.
What are you...?
Listen.
I've worked for Ben
Matlock for less than a year.
We're not exactly buddies.
Fact is, I don't even like
the guy, and the worst
thing that could happen to me
if you kill him is
I'll find another job.
So, cut the crap!
Now, put the silver
fox on, or forget it.
Ow!
Talk fast, and
careful what you say.
Hello?
Ben!
Ben, you all right?
I'm fine.
We're working on it, Ben.
I know.
Feed my cats, Sarah and Esther.
Ben?!
Okay, no more games.
Michelle Thomas will
be at the pay phone
in Butler Park at
Laurel and Newcastle.
She'll have the coins with her,
or Matlock's a dead man.
Wait...
Oh, God.
What was Ben trying to tell us?
Okay, he doesn't
have cats, so...
Sarah and Esther.
Sarah... and Esther...
Morgan.
Morgan.
The Morgan twins.
They kidnapped him.
I don't think so.
They're Ben's neighbors.
They're over 80, and
God-fearing women.
They give Ben hand-knitted
mufflers every Christmas.
Well, maybe they suddenly
went wacko or something.
No. No. No. No?
Okay, Sarah and Esther.
Morgan.
Morgan. Morgan.
Morgan, what?! Morgan.
It's a street name.
Morgan.
Morgan.
Morgan.
It's not a street.
It's not a boulevard,
it's not an avenue.
It's not even an alley.
What was he trying to tell us?!
Do you remember my sister Emily?
Huh?
'Course you do.
Do you remember
how sweet she was?
How pretty?
Know where she is?
She's dead.
All gone.
You see, you made
Emily so very unhappy
that she killed herself.
Shoot him.
Come on, Julia, take
a pill or something.
You're not thinking straight.
Don't say that.
Julia, listen, we need him
until we get what we want.
You want those
coins, don't you, Jack?
Well, they're worth
half a million, Julia,
and I know just
where to sell them.
And you deserve them
for helping me
escape from prison,
for helping me get him,
and for helping me
kill Michelle Thomas.
Isn't this a great plan?
My uncle's in Florida, so
we broke into his house,
kidnapped you, so
Jack'll get the coins,
and all that money.
And I get to kill your
dear friend Michelle.
I...
I-I knew you'd like this plan.
You see, Mr. Matlock,
I know you're close to Michelle,
and I want you to know exactly
what it feels like when
someone you love dies.
And you will.
I promise.
Sarah and Esther,
Sarah and Esther.
Sarah and Esther.
That's it.
What?
It's not the name.
It's the
relationship... sisters.
Ben's been kidnapped by sisters.
All right, I'll plug it in.
No. I know who it is.
Julia and Emily McCullough.
Sisters. Strange sisters.
Julia and Emily McCullough
shared everything,
including the plan to
commit the perfect murder
just to prove they could do it.
Am I you, or are you me?
Hurry up. Okay, okay.
Do you have my, uh, notebook?
Emily, let's go.
You don't need it.
Okay. Julia, can't we
do this another night?
Emily, we should have been
at the library ten minutes ago.
Let's go.
Julia!
Come on.
You like playing with fire.
Good night, Uncle Harold.
Dribbles around,
passes to Turner.
Turner to Pierson,
Pierson to Pryor...
He's open. Shoots and scores!
Good evening, Miss Reese.
Look, D.B., I'm supposed
to know my way around.
This John Doe moke
must've cost you a fortune.
Harold, is that you?
Harold?
Harold?
Julia.
Shh, shh.
Uncle Harold?
What happened?
Esther... is dead.
She's been murdered.
But Ben, who defended their
Uncle Howard for the murder of
their Aunt Esther, was
suspicious of Julia and Emily,
and he investigated
as only Ben can.
What do you want?
Oh! Oh!
I'm so sorry. Would you...
Oh, would you look
at... at that? I'm sorry. I...
thought I was by myself.
Who are you?
Oh, I'm Ben Matlock,
Harold's lawyer.
You must be his nieces.
Yes, we are.
What gives you the
right to come in here?
Julia?
Harold said you were the one
that did the talking,
that Emily was real shy.
Don't burn yourself
with that.
Oh, I'm not gonna burn anything.
Or anyone.
What are you looking for?
Silver polish.
Why?
Whoever killed your Aunt Esther
tried to clean that candlestick
before the police found it.
I can't find the silver polish.
If Harold tried to clean it,
where did he put the polish?
Look.
Silver polish.
Isn't that interesting?
I just found this one.
I guess you can't have
too much silver polish.
Well, I'll be on my way, and
again, I'm...
Good night.
Where's Julia?
I'd like to have
a word with her.
Um... She's here somewhere.
Let's go ask Miss Reese.
Mrs. Reese, have you seen Julia?
Yes, of course.
She's in the upper stacks.
There.
There she is.
Julia?
Where is Julia?
Right over here.
I could have sworn that...
Amazing how our eyes
can fool us sometimes.
Mr. Hudson was
interviewing your sister.
He tricked me.
I thought it was you.
So did Mrs. Reese.
I don't think she's
so certain now
it was you she saw in the stacks
the night of the murder.
We have to study.
Uh, one other thing.
Subpoenas for both of you.
You can come to court together.
It'll be like always.
Emily,
when you were very young,
your parents died
in a fire, didn't they?
Yes.
And you always felt bad
about that, didn't you?
Even guilty.
Yes.
Did you know that
fire was caused
by a broken gas main?
No.
I have the fire department
report right here.
Julia didn't tell
you that, didn't she?
She needed for you
to feel responsible for the fire
and the death of your parents,
because you used to
like to play with matches.
Leave my sister alone!
He's a liar! Liar!
Order. Order in the court.
One more word out
of you, young lady,
and I'll have you in contempt.
Ben found the psychological
key to Julia's domination
of Emily... and the key
to proving them guilty.
No further questions.
You may step down.
Julia.
The court isn't
finished with you.
Your Honor, I call Julia
McCullough to the stand.
Now, Julia,
you stole Mr. Henderson's keys
the night you drove
him into town, didn't you?
No.
Then, made your
sister impersonate you
in the library. JULIA: No.
Then, you killed your
Aunt Esther to prove
you could commit
the perfect crime
and were therefore
better than everyone else.
No. Then, you and your sister
hid this candlestick
in the basement
for the police to find.
Of course not.
Who did?
Uncle Harold.
I don't think so.
I just noticed something
that somehow evaded
me until a moment ago.
If it had been a snake,
it would have bitten me.
When does the paper
arrive at the house?
In the morning.
What time?
About 6:00.
Well, Harold couldn't
have used this newspaper
to wrap the candlestick.
Why not?
Read the day of the week.
Read it.
It's Thursday's paper.
I didn't hear you.
It's Thursday's paper!
And Uncle Harold
was taken into custody
by the police Wednesday night,
wasn't he?
Yes.
So, what does that mean?
It means this candlestick
was placed in the basement
after Harold was taken
to police headquarters.
Who was at the house
Thursday morning, Julia?
The police were with you.
They know that you
and Emily were alone.
Only you and your sister
could have placed this
candlestick in the basement.
Okay, Julia went to
the Taylor State Prison
for the Criminally Insane.
I don't know about Emily.
How can they be out?
Yo, Charlie?
Okay, time to go.
You okay?
I'm always okay.
Mr. Matlock and I
are going to talk over
old times.
Aren't we, honey?
Then, you'll bring
back Miss Thomas.
And we'll have a party.
You can count on it.
Okay, this is it.
I'm taking the coins to
Laurel and Newcastle.
All right, it's a public place.
It should be safe.
I'll go to the McCullough house.
Whoever the guy
is that's working
with the sisters will
be guarding Ben.
Listen, be careful.
That house is full
of secret passages.
Hey, I was born careful.
You be careful. Yeah.
Good luck, huh? All right.
Ben and I will meet you
back here in a couple hours.
I like that.
Hello, Miss Thomas.
You should always wear red.
Where are you?
Close.
Now, listen.
Leave the park.
Drive ten miles west on Route 42
to the bus stop between
South and Grand.
Get out of the car,
and wait on the bench.
I have the coins.
Is Ben with you?
No questions.
Just do as you're told.
Damn.
♪ ♪
Hello.
Waiting for the bus?
No, for a friend.
Surprise.
I have something you want.
Save it.
You'll be delivering
it in person
to an old friend of yours
who wants to say
hello and good-bye.
Emily was beautiful.
Just like your Michelle.
You killed Emily,
so I'm going to kill Michelle.
And-and then, I'm
going to kill you.
Let go of me!
Come on. All right, all right.
Let go of me!
There you go.
Let me out of here!
Thank God it's over.
No, it's not. He'll
be back in a minute
with Michelle, and
he's going to kill her.
All right.
I'll call the police.
All right. All right.
You okay?
Okay.
Hey, Julia, I brought
you a present.
Nothing to it.
Ben, are you all right?
Yeah. You?
I'm fine now. Oh, good.
Oh, good, the cops.
I'll let them in.
He's out. I'll get Julia.
She's gone!
Gone?! Yeah.
Michelle!
Michelle, look out!
Bob?
Always good to see you.